Minnesota Vikings' Harrison Smith won't be fined or suspended

Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) is escorted off the field during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Sunday, Oct. 7, 2012, in Minneapolis. Smith was ejected from the game after pushing an official who was trying to break up an on-field altercation. (AP Photo/Jim Mone)

Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith will not be fined or suspended by the NFL after he was ejected for shoving an official, coach Leslie Frazier said Monday, Oct. 8.

Smith was ejected with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter of the Vikings' 30-7 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at the Metrodome, so he essentially served a two-thirds-of-a-game suspension.

Smith shoved aside back judge Steve Freeman after the official pushed the rookie out of a scrum involving teammate Chris Cook and Titans wide receiver Nate Washington following Antoine Winfield's interception. Smith was penalized 15 yards and automatically ejected.

Smith was contrite in the locker room, acknowledging his mistake and apologizing to his teammates and coaches for the incident.

"Right at the time I touched him, I realized, 'That's an official,' " Smith told reporters. "I should never have been there. It was just stupid for me to even be involved. I got caught up in the heat of the moment. At the end of the day, you can never touch the officials. They have a hard enough job as it is, and to make it harder on them is just stupid. It's something that I don't ever have to do again, from this point on."

Referee Jeff Triplette said after the game that the ejection was automatic once Smith made contact with Freeman. Triplette added that he was fine with how forcefully Freeman pushed Smith away from the Titans players.

"He was just trying to separate from the huddle," Triplette said. Smith "can't be shoving him (Freeman) aside.

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In his first five games, Smith has made himself a fixture in the Vikings' defense largely because of his physical play.

He broke up a touchdown pass with an end zone hit on Detroit's Calvin Johnson the previous week, and he leveled Titans receiver Kendall Wright with a midair hit in the first quarter Sunday.

The Vikings already are thin at safety with injuries to Mistral Raymond and Andrew Sendejo. Robert Blanton filled in at free safety for the rest of the game Sunday, but he was the last available safety the Vikings had.

"From everything I've been told, it was a justifiable ejection," coach Leslie Frazier said after the game. "I mean, you can't touch the officials. It's just not smart on our part, and we've got to learn from it. It's just not smart -- not smart football."